What is the name of the Southern US dish of deep-fried unripe tomatoes?

The Southern US dish of deep-fried unripe tomatoes is called fried green tomatoes.

The dish is made by slicing firm, unripe green tomatoes, seasoning them, coating them in cornmeal or another breading, and frying them until the outside is crisp. The tomatoes remain pleasantly tart because they have not yet developed the sweetness and softness of ripe fruit. Buttermilk or beaten egg is often used to help the coating adhere.

Although fried green tomatoes are strongly associated with the American South, their documented history is more complicated. Food historian Robert F. Moss found recipes published in US newspapers from 1900 to 1911, mainly in the Northeast and Midwest. The dish also appears in Pennsylvania Dutch cooking, where flour may be used instead of cornmeal.

The 1991 film Fried Green Tomatoes helped cement the dish’s Southern image, but it did not originate the recipe. Fried green tomatoes should also not be confused with fried okra or hushpuppies: the tomato slice is the defining ingredient.